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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro’s debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke’s, London, with Britain’s eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro’s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum, Madrid. “Achúcarro’s approach is unorthodox in today’s stick-to-theletter-of-the-score, mechanically perfect musical world. His rubati seem excessive to some; to others, like a throwback to a Golden Age. For all of his reverence for the great composers whose music he plays, he maintains a healthy sense of their humanity as well. “Our duty is first of all to understand what composer does and wants, and then to try to deliver it the best we can, but also to serve the music,” he says. “And maybe sometimes the composer is wrong.” He adds, “People say you must follow the text. But if you follow the text, perhaps the music is not totally served.” … And he views what he does as a performer as an act of creation in its own right.” The Washington Post Extra features: Joaquín Achúcarro: 50 years on Documentary including interviews with Plácido Domingo, Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. Running time 131 mins Region code All regions Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size: BD50 Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0 & 5.1 PCM Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “all three sections of both versions benefit from the masterly hand of director Robin Lough who, unlike many of his peers, knows how to let the music speak for itself without the need for frantic cuts and cross-fades...The short recital filmed in the Prado captures Achúcarro at his intimate best” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Flute Concertos at SanssouciA Tribute to Frederick the Great
Emmanuel Pahud, principal flutist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, celebrates the 300th birthday of Frederick the Great with a concert recorded in the historic Royal Theater of the Neues Palais Potsdam, one of the architectural gems within the world-heritage palace ensemble of Sanssouci built by the Prussian king. Trevor Pinnock is one of the pioneers of the modern revival of early music performance and he appears as a guest conductor with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras. Emmanuel Pahud is one of today's most exciting and adventurous musicians. Accompanied by the Kammerakademie Potsdam, Phaud and Pinnock perform works by C.P.E Bach, Franz Benda, Johann Joachim Quantz and a composition written by Frederick the Great himself. Sound Format: Blu-ray: DTS-HD MA 5.0, PCM 2.0 Running Time: 78 minutes Booklet: English, German, French AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | András Schiff plays Bach
András Schiff, born in 1953 in Budapest, is nowadays one of the most appreciated and distinguished pianists in the world. Magically, he brings life into pieces, makes them breathing and swinging and keeps up almost forgotten ideals of piano playing. Thus, he is not only a great pianist, but also a professional whose view is not limited on piano music, but who has wide knowledge of the broad field of macro culture. This enables him to play the piano which always makes sense to his own point of view. Surely Bach’s French Suites, which he composed during his years at Cöthen (1717–1723), are among the finest inducements to practise that any teacher has ever made to a pupil. In this case Bach wrote them for his young wife, Anna Magdalena. The over-riding impression left by these suites is one of endearing tunefulness. Clavier-Übung II is a later collection of didactic keyboard pieces. It comprises two greatly contrasted works: the Italian Concerto and the Overture in the French Style. These performances admirably demonstrate the thoughtful and persuasive approach that András Schiff adopts when performing Bach. The Concert Recording is accompanied with some interviews with András Schiff, which enriches and completes the great experience of the concert. During the interview, Schiff sits at the Steinway piano and explains the French Suites which J. S. Bach composed during 1722 and 1725 for Cembalo, but also its closeness to Bach’s Goldberg variations and Orchestra suites. He plays a short passage of a Suite, explains it and plays again, but then he interrupts himself once again. This happens without script but with refreshing spontaneity and directness. Completing this part, you can see András Schiff at the Thomas Church and Bach Museum where he talks about Bach’s years in Leipzig, his musical and personal development. Bonus: Schiff explains Bach Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM 2.0 PCM 5.1 Region code: 0 Bonus-Original Language: German Bonus-Subtitles: English, French Running time: 168 mins (134 mins Performance + 34 mins Bonus) FSK: 0 “over two hours of unalloyed joy...Schiff combines the secure touch of a performer thoroughly immersed in Bach's style with an effervescent freshness of spirit. Whether it is in the more complex contrapuntal passages, or a long-breathed sustaining line, there is a natural flow to every phrase.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2011 ***** “The bottom line...is that Schiff can play all six suites and the more demanding French Overture in one concert and sustain a level of artistry, concentration, stamina and attention to detail as few pianists of his or any generation have accomplished...The varied and unobtrusive camerawork serves the music, the artist and the occasion well.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 75 years Anniversary Concert & Documentary COMING HOMEa film by János Darvas
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra - a cultural icon of Israel and one of the greatest classical ensembles in the world - celebrated its 75th Birthday on December 26th, 2011 together with three outstanding soloists of the younger generation – Julian Rachlin, Evgeny Kissin and Vadim Repin. The concert took place in the spectacular Hangar 11 at the harbor in Tel Aviv. Zubin Mehta conducted a spectacular programme of Saint-Saëns, Bach, Chopin, Chausson and Beethoven. The film ‘Coming Home’ by János Darvas portrays the orchestra and tells of its moving history, which is both a reflection of the history of Israel and the fate of the Jews in the 20th Century. With texts from memoirs, with material from radio interviews, home movies and photos from the orchestra’s archives, as well as from private collections, the film will not only tells the story of the orchestra, but draws parallels to the fates of many individuals. Historical footage brings the 75-year history of the orchestra to life in concerts with Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman. Interviews with orchestra members from the early years weave through talks with musicians that joined later, and with current orchestra members. Moreover, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman and Pinkas Zukerman have their say. We also get the opportunity to watch the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsals, concerts and tours. Part of the EuroArts Israel Philharmonic Anniversary Campaign with two more must have releases: - 75 years anniversary concert & documentary “Coming Home” (Cat. No. DVD 2059098 + Cat. No. BD 2059094) - Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Anniversary Edition - 5 DVDs Box Set incl. Classic Archive: Arthur Rubinstein plays Chopin (Cat. No. 3079638), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 70th-Anniversary Concert (Cat. No. 2055878), Bernstein conducts Brahms (Cat. No. 2072048) + New Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 60th-Anniversary, Concert, 1996 & Joint Concert, 1990. Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Subtitles: English Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 148 mins (95 mins Concert + 53 mins Documentary) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Barenboim plays Complete Beethoven Piano SonatasLive recording from Palais Lobkowitz, Palais Rasumowsky, Palais Kinsky and Schloss Hetzendorf, Vienna, 1983-84
Director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle New Release on Euroarts's new sub-label: Recorded Excellence – Historical Value. The aim of the new series is to make accessible to music lovers and collectors top-quality recordings documenting extra-special concert performances that were hitherto unreleased or were no longer available, either for the first time or as re-releases on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The main focus is on artists and repertoire. The new series will showcase defining concert moments of music history. True HD picture! Digitally remastered and restored from 35mm film. Including intensive and high-quality audio and visual restoration. In this recording, seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim tackles the so-called 'New Testament' of music, Ludwig van Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas. Composed over twenty-five years and embodying the shift of musical taste from the Classic to the Romantic, their performance requires a musician of extraordinary versatility. Daniel Barenboim is one such pianist – his recordings run the gamut from Bach and Mozart to Bruckner and Bartók. In following in the footsteps of such masters as Artur Schnabel, Barenboim truly shows himself to be among the greatest living musicians. Bonus: 10 min. Interview with Daniel Barenboim, Vienna 2012, about the recording and the production of the complete Beethoven Sonatas Cycle 1980 - 1984. Special Digipak packaging in a luxury slipcase. Picture format: 1080i Full HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 724 mins (714 mins Concert + 10 mins Interview) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Lang Lang: Live In ViennaBlu-ray release includes 25 mins of 3D footage of performances of the repertoire from the album.
Lang Lang’s first recording for Sony, the start of a new exclusive long-term partnership - recorded live at Vienna’s prestigious Musikverein earlier in 2010. Lang Lang: Heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by the New York Times, 28- year-old Lang Lang began playing the piano at the age of 3, gave his first public recital aged 5, and won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition at the age of 13. Since then he has become a global phenomenon, playing sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world. Testimony to his success, Lang Lang recently appeared in the 2009 Time 100 – Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2008, over 5 billion people viewed Lang Lang’s performance in Beijing’s opening ceremony for the Olympic Games, and he has inspired over 40 million Chinese children to take up the piano – a phenomenon coined by The Today Show as "the Lang Lang effect." More recently, Lang Lang was chosen as an official worldwide ambassador to the 2010 Shanghai Expo. He has performed at prestigious events including at The White House and The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. Continuing his presence on the world stage, Lang Lang was featured at the 2008 Grammy Awards and the 2009 Classical Brit Awards, pairing up with jazz great, Herbie Hancock, for an astounding performance that was broadcast live to 45 million viewers worldwide. Lang Lang has made it his mission to share classical music around the world, with an emphasis on training children and young musicians through education, outreach programs, master classes and financial support. He launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York with the support of UNICEF. In May 2009, Lang Lang and his three chosen young scholars from the foundation performed together on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In addition to his numerous commitments, Lang Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. His role in this groundbreaking project created by YouTube and Google reflects his devotion to building new audiences and bringing classical music to young people worldwide. A brand in himself, Lang Lang has become the face of numerous global campaigns. Steinway has created five versions of the “Lang Lang Steinway” designed for early music education - the first time in Steinway’s 150-year history that an artist’s name has been used to produce pianos. He is a global brand ambassador for the entire Sony Corporation, including its Electronics arm, with whom he anticipates achieving innovative and creative possibilities for the future. Lang Lang also holds brand partnerships with Audi Automobiles and Aegon's worldwide financial services, amongst others.Lang Lang’s performance clothes are provided by Versace. In February 2010, Lang Lang joined Sony Music Entertainment as an exclusive recording artist. “The first movement of his Appassionata is gracefully conceived, and he brings a properly Beethovenian authority to the variations of the slow movement, before seguing gracefully into whirlwind finale...But the chief appeal of this CD lies in the fact that it's pulsatingly live...Lang Lang dares, and wins” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 **** “It's hard to imagine a programme to better display the pianist's prodigious range.” The Independent, 20th August 2010 **** “...let me say at once that the youthful excess and rampant exhibitionism of much of Lang Lang's earliest work is today transformed into playing which for the greater part is as stylish and perceptive as it is brilliant...Clearly everyone is having a ball and, make no mistake, doubting Thomases should take time off to listen to a major talent.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2010 “He is intense and focused in the "Appassionata", sharp and lively in Beethoven's early C major sonata. His Albéniz is thrillingly colourful, his Prokofiev vivid and pungent...the technical command is peerless and the emotional warmth envelops us. He is surely the Horowitz of our generation” The Observer, 12th September 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | Menahem Pressler in RecitalRecorded at the Cité de la Musique, Paris, March 2011
For more than 50 years, Menahem Pressler was the driving force of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio, giving 6.000 performances until the trio stopped concertizing in 2009. Menahem Pressler is now returning to a solo career. During this recital filmed at Paris’ Cité de la Musique 2011, Menahem Pressler plays two of the most imposing works in the piano repertoire: Beethoven’s penultimate sonata and Schubert’s last sonata which both require unusual emotional involvement from the performer. Menahem Pressler is the last representative of a pianistic tradition directly connected with the great German and French piano schools: he studied with several pupils of the illustrious Ferruccio Busoni but also received valuable advice from Robert Casadesus or Paul Loyonnet who opened the world of Ravel and Debussy to him. “Pressler’s ability to give all the voices prominence while simultaneously isolating the melody was amazing. His fingers still retain a youthful facility.” The Washington Post Picture format: 1080i 16:9 Sound formats: PCM Stereo Region code: all (worldwide) Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 88 mins “His technique may be somewhat dimmed, but the twinkle of his distinctive sound remains as fresh and beautiful as ever; so, too, his astute pointing of musical structure, and the sheer love with which he communicates these great works...Pierre-Martin Juban's straightforward, well-judged direction provides a fine match between style and subject.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3
The DVD continues the success of the Brahms CD with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis, released in March (4778767). Recent reviews are excellent and will certainly make for an outstanding DVD: “Never before have Mutter and Orkis seemed so joined at the hip, giving and taking, conducting dialogue, chasing each others’ thoughts . . . She plays with a new degree of maturity and depth, especially visible in the slow movements. The disc’s high point is the adagio from the first sonata, in G major, where Mutter’s gold thread is reduced to a dusky murmur before shifting through tones as subtle as they are various. Orkis’s contribution is equally vital, whether keeping pace with limpid filigree or, at the close, pedalling up a penumbra of resonance to balance Mutter’s whispers. Magical music-making, this. Elsewhere, Mutter shows that she is able to become passionately alive without shaking with neuroses. In the third sonata, in D minor, the finale lives up to Brahms’s instruction -- "presto agitato" -- but never races over the top. Throughout, speeds and dynamics are controlled with regard for the music’s inner substance, not its outward show . . . The CD’s delectable virtues also include Deutsche Grammophon’s clear, well-balanced recording. A masterly issue . . .” The Times (London) On this recording, Anne-Sophie Mutter, accompanied by pianist Lambert Orkis, shares her up-to-date thoughts on the Brahms Violin Sonatas that have been central to her repertoire from the start of her career As bonus material the DVD includes Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis in conversation in English (with subtitles), Anne-Sophie Mutter on Brahms’s Violin Sonatas in German and the promotional video. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Daniel Barenboim: The Warsaw RecitalCelebrating Frédéric Chopin’s 200th birthday. Live from the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Chopin: | Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 'Marche funèbre' Fantasia in F minor, Op. 49 Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2 Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 Waltz No. 2 in A flat major 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 1 Waltz No. 3 in A minor 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 2 Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57 Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque' Mazurka No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3 Waltz No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1 'Minute Waltz' |
Frédéric Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboim’s stage début, and as a pianist he has decided to devote this year to the great Romantic master of the keyboard. Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in a small village near Warsaw, and on the eve of the 200th anniversary of this date Barenboim gave this wildly acclaimed Warsaw recital as part of an extensive European tour. The program comprised some of the composer’s best-known works, including the great B flat minor Sonata with its famous Funeral March, which sounded to many “as the composer may well have imagined it”. While Chopin used to advise his piano scholars to take singing lessons, Barenboim, as an experienced conductor of operas is most familiar with the human voice as well. With his brilliant virtuosity, he lead the audience through a most colorful program, once again proving his talent for this composer. Picture Format Blu-Ray: HDCAM 1080/59,94 Sound Formats Blu-Ray: DTS HD Master Audio PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: 90:45 Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “Not especially celebrated for his Chopin...Barenboim is - it goes without saying - a towering musician who is worth hearing here...Opening with the F minor Fantasia, Barenboim is on magisterial and musically imaginative form. His almost Lisztian approach to the B flat minor Sonata is excitingly turbulent”” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 **** “The Barcarolle and sequence of three Waltzes are quite beguiling...a magnificent and genuinely impassioned account of the A flat major Polonaise...The neat, unfussy direction makes the film a pleasure to watch.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Lang Lang: Dragon Songs
Lang Lang (piano) with Fan Wei (lute), Ji Wei (zither) & Zhang Jiali (double-reed pipe) Released in 2006 on DVD and has since shipped over 60k units, now also available on Blu-ray. Lang Lang has fascinated audiences all over the globe – with “Dragon Songs” he takes them home to show them “his” China. Discover the musical culture that forged one of the most acclaimed classical musicians of our day. The BD features a full-length documentary offering a fascinating look behind the scenes of Lang Lang’s China tour, from the privacy of his parents’ flat (where Lang Lang revisits his very first piano), to a Lang-family lunch and a visit to the local temple, to his successful master classes and stage performances. Additionally this BD includes a concert of the piano solo and chamber music pieces, all filmed in Beijing. The Yellow River Concerto, a large-scale, highly virtuosic piano concerto with colourful sound scales, is juxtaposed with miniature pieces for piano solo and with chamber pieces, each combining the piano with traditional Chinese instruments. Though all the pieces were written in the early 20th century, most of them are based on much older sources, merging traditional Chinese melodies and idioms with the Western classical music tradition – the result is music of astonishing beauty and ease that will strongly appeal to a broad audience. | 
| | | DG - 0735037 (Blu-ray) Normally: $28.00 Special: $21.00 |
| | Scheduled for release on 3 June 2013. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
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